by Ed Demoney, RD
Despite a wet course and drizzle, 122 runners finished and had a lot of fun doing so. There aren't that many opportunities to run trails in Northern Virginia with 36 enjoying a 4K finish and 86 the 8K. There were surprisingly few falls on the muddy and leaf covered trails and slippery water crossings.
The trail runs were a successful fund raising event for Gulf Branch Nature Center and Potomac Overlook Regional Park. Friends of Gulf Branch Nature Center (FoGBNC) will receive $1,771.50 for the benefit of the nature center and Potomac Overlook $590.50. FoGBNC needs to raise $10,000 by December 31, 2009, to prevent Gulf Branch Nature Center's operations being reduced to 3-1/2 days from the current 4-1/2.

Martha Nelson ran a course record 37:57, breaking the 38:40 mark set by Tammy Southworth in 2001, and finishing first overall in the 8K. Lukas McGowan, 39:09, led the men runners. David Reynolds, 44, (40:32) and Mary Catherine Malin, 50, (53:25) were the winning masterŐs runners.
In the 4K Emily Blagg, age 15, was the overall winner with a time of 19:42, just two seconds slower than the 19:40 record she set in 2006 at age 11. Emily took it easy since she had competed in a high school race a day earlier. First man was Phil Ennis, age 47, with a time of 21:17. Youth captured three of the first four places in the 4K. Master's winners in the 4K were Mark Mullen, 43, (23:07) and Karen Bate, 52, (27:34).
The race would not have been possible without the enthusiastic support of volunteers from Virginia Happy Trails Running Club and FoGBNC managed by VHTRC's Maria Bertacchi. Also providing valuable support were VHTRC's Anstr Davidson and Valerie Meyer, TriTeam Z's Ed Zerkle, and Bob Platt of RacePacket. And in a continuation of a long tradition of the event, awards were contributed by the Mad Bomber.
[There are 76 photos from the run on VHTRC Flickr site. That site has the original, high resolution versions of the photos. You may download a photo for any non-comercial purpose.]
RacePacket Home | 2005 Results